Integrated word-search, word-link, trivia puzzle and word-scramble

ABSTRACT

An integrated word-search, word-link, trivia puzzle and word-scramble includes a number of preprinted letters in a grid region. The region contains letters which are solutions to the word-search, word-link, trivia puzzle and word-scramble, and disguising letters filling in the rest of the puzzle. Through solving the puzzle, the individual letters of the puzzle word solutions are circled in turn and linked together with a straight line. The lines linking the individual letters of the solution cross out the disguising letters which lie directly in between the solution letters. The letters which are circled cannot be crossed out with a line, and letters which are crossed out with a line cannot be circled in a subsequent part of that word solution or in a later word solution. Any remaining letters which have not been circled or crossed out with a line may be combined and unscrambled to form a word-scramble solution.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

Invention previously filed (and rejected) by the same inventor as part of a different application Ser. No. 11/438,146

STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT

Not Applicable

REFERENCE TO SEQUENCE LISTING, A TABLE, OR A COMPUTER PROGRAM LISTING COMPACT DISC APPENDIX

Not Applicable

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Trivia puzzles, word-search puzzles and unscramble-a-word puzzles are popular and well known puzzles. Possibly the most famous puzzle using trivia word clues is the Crossword Puzzle. Crossword puzzles are popular largely because of the general knowledge and clue solving skills required in solving the puzzles. They also can be quite challenging and difficult, which adds to the satisfaction of the puzzle lover. The difficulty of the crossword puzzle can vary based on the crossword clues and solutions, to satisfy puzzle lovers of a wide range of skill levels. Word-search puzzles are popular largely because of the joy of searching through a grid recognizing patterns of letters. They are generally easier than crossword puzzles, and therefore can be a lot of fun for the times a puzzle lover doesn't want something too challenging. Unscramble-a-word puzzles are fun because they require deductive reasoning by looking through different possible solutions for a similar group of letters. A scrambled group of letters may at first look nothing like the final solution, and so it can be another word puzzle which can be complex resulting in enjoyment to the word puzzle lover, and a high level of satisfaction when the puzzle is solved.

There would be a high level of enjoyment to some puzzle lovers by combining the knowledge and clue solving skills of a challenging crossword type puzzle, with the joyous searching and pattern recognizing of a fun word-search and word-link puzzle, along with the deductive reasoning and pattern recognition required in an unscramble-a-word puzzle.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The invention presented is intended to meet the listed desires. An integrated word-search, word-link, trivia puzzle and word-scramble is presented to challenge the puzzle lover's general knowledge and clue-solving skills through trivia word clues, while also requiring the use of searching and pattern recognizing skills resulting in a very satisfactory puzzle solving experience.

Trivia word clues are presented to the user requiring general knowledge and clue-solving skills to solve a specific clue. The first letters of the clues are provided in the puzzle, narrowing down the available words from which the user will think of in solving the puzzle. Blanks next to the clues also indicate the length of each of the clue solutions, similar to the grid spaces in a crossword indicating the number of characters in an individual crossword clue solution. Once the user determines a solution to the trivia word clue, they perform a modified word search through the puzzle, beginning with certain initial letters, and proceeding by looking in a straight horizontal or vertical direction around each initial letter for the next letter in the word, which may or may not fall in a neighboring square. Once they have discovered a possibility for the next letter of the word, they proceed from that letter in a straight horizontal or vertical direction searching for the next letter of the word, which may or may not fall in a neighboring square. They continue on in this manner linking all of the letters of the word together to form the word-link solution.

The puzzle invention consists of:

-   -   (A) a puzzle grid region (such as 01 of FIG. 1), where:         -   (a) squares are pre-filled in the grid region (such as 12             and 13 of FIG. 1) with letters allowing for the formation of             word-search, word-link and trivia solutions, and             word-scramble solutions         -   (b) any blacked out squares in the grid region (31 of             FIG. 3) which may not be crossed in the course of solving             the puzzle         -   (c) any blank squares in the grid region (32 of FIG. 4) may             be crossed in the course of solving the puzzle     -   (B) a trivia word clue section (such as 21 of FIG. 5),         including:         -   (a) trivia word clues (such as 21 of FIG. 1)         -   (b) blanks indicating the number of letters (such as 22 of             FIG. 1) for each puzzle word solution to decrease the             difficulty of the solution         -   (c) a word-scramble clue (such as 23 of FIG. 1) with blanks             indicating the number of letters (such as 24 of FIG. 1) for             the word-scramble solution to decrease the difficulty of the             solution     -   (C) circles around the initial letters with the background of         the square being grayed out (such as 11 of FIG. 1) for each         word-search, word-link and trivia solution, to decrease the         difficulty of the solution     -   (D) numbers may be included in each of the squares of the         initial letters corresponding with the clue number (such as 33         of FIG. 5), to decrease the difficulty of the solution

It is a benefit of the presented invention to provide a puzzle which requires general knowledge and clue-solving skills to solve a specific clue, in much the same way as a crossword puzzle. As an additional benefit, the clue solutions are “hidden” in the solution grid, requiring the use of searching and pattern recognition skills to solve the entire puzzle, resulting in a puzzle which appeals to many different puzzle enthusiasts. When some of the words have been solved, many of the letters will be crossed out or circled, resulting in an easier search for the final difficult clues for the user.

Other benefits of the presented invention are based on the different elements available for use in the puzzles. One benefit is the addition of an unscramble-a-word clue at the end of the puzzle which the puzzle lover will look forward to as a final puzzle and sense of accomplishment. Another benefit is the various degrees of difficulties which can be applied to the puzzle. In addition to having various degrees of difficulty based on the complexity of the trivia word clues and solutions, the different elements of the puzzle can increase or decrease the difficulty for the puzzle solver. Indicating the initial letters of the clue solutions makes the puzzle easier than by not indicating the letters. Placing a number with the initial letter corresponding with the clue number makes the word search portion easier to solve. Placing blanks next to the trivia word clues indicating the number of letters in the clue solution makes the trivia clues easier to solve.

Other elements can provide a different and unique puzzle solving experience as well. Creating the puzzle in different shapes can be pleasing aesthetically to the puzzle solver. Placing blank squares in the grid region which may be crossed in the course of solving a puzzle provide a different and fun puzzle. Placing black squares in the grid region which may not be crossed in the course of solving a puzzle also provides a different and fun puzzle.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWING

All of these qualities, benefits and attributes can be shown more clearly through consideration of the attached drawings and description.

FIG. 1 shows a simple puzzle example before it is solved (01) and the solution to the puzzle after it is solved (51). 51 shows the solution of “CATS” to the trivia/word-link puzzle, and the four remaining letters “DGOS” which form the solution of “DOGS” to the unscramble-a-word puzzle.

FIG. 2 shows a simple puzzle example before it is solved (02) and the solution to the puzzle after it is solved (52). It also shows a puzzle and solution combination using a different non-square grid. 52 shows the solution of “CATS” to the trivia/word-link puzzle, and the four remaining letters “DGOS” which form the solution of “DOGS” to the unscramble-a-word puzzle.

FIG. 3 shows a simple puzzle example before it is solved (03) and the solution to the puzzle after it is solved (53). It also incorporates one element of placing black squares in the grid which may not be crossed in the course of solving the puzzle. 53 shows the solution of “CATS” to the trivia/word-link puzzle.

FIG. 4 shows a simple puzzle example before it is solved (04) and the solution to the puzzle after it is solved (54). It also incorporates one element of placing blank squares in the grid which may be crossed in the course of solving the puzzle. 54 shows the solution of “CATS” to the trivia/word-link puzzle, and the four remaining letters “GDSO” which form the solution of “DOGS” to the unscramble-a-word puzzle.

FIG. 5 shows a simple puzzle example before it is solved (05) and the solution to the puzzle after it is solved (55). It also incorporates an easier element of placing numbers in the squares of the initial letters which correspond with the trivia word clues. 55 shows the solutions of “LEXINGTON,” “LINCOLN” and “LEE” to the trivia/word-link puzzle, and the five remaining letters “SATEX” which form the solution of “TEXAS” to the unscramble-a-word puzzle.

FIG. 6 shows a more complex puzzle example before it is solved (06).

FIG. 7 shows the solution to the puzzle in FIG. 6 after it is solved (56).

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Referring to FIGS. 1 through 7, several examples of the invention are shown, created to illustrate the different concepts and elements of the invention. These examples show sample puzzle examples (01-06) and the solutions to the respective puzzle examples (51-56). The different examples illustrate the details of the puzzle invention, along with several elements of the puzzle.

FIG. 1 shows a sample puzzle grid 01 with letters presented in the grid as part of the puzzle. The first letter of a clue solution is pointed out in 11 with a circle around the letter and a grayed out background to the grid square to indicate that it is a starting letter. Other letters are shown in the grid (such as 12 and 13) which do not have any indication to them, and are a part of the puzzle. These letters (such as 12 and 13) may be trivia word clue solution letters, disguising letters which will be crossed out in the course of solving the puzzle, or word-scramble solution letters. Trivia word clues 21 are presented with the number of letters in the answer indicated by blanks 22. A word-scramble clue 23 is presented with the number of letters in the answer being indicated by blanks 24.

The solution to puzzle 01 in FIG. 1 is represented in 51. In 71 the trivia word clue has been solved. The letters of the trivia word clue have individually been circled (such as 61), in turn, with a straight horizontal or vertical line (such as 63) connecting the individually circled letters. In this example, the answer to the clue 21 is “CATS”, and this is presented in 71, fitting the number of blanks presented in 22. The letters “A,” “T” (12 & 61) and “S” were circled in turn, and connected with straight horizontal lines between the “C” (11) and “A”, the “A” and “T” (61), and a vertical line (63) between the “T” (61) and “S.” The disguising letter “T” (13) was crossed out to solve the puzzle. This is the only solution to this clue in the grid satisfying the conditions that the lines connecting clue letters must be horizontal or vertical, and no letter that has been circled may have a line going through it and no letter that is crossed out may then be circled.

In 51 of FIG. 1, through the course of solving the puzzle, the solution to the trivia word clue number 1 was determined to be “CATS.” The puzzle grid is then used to locate the word, beginning with the indicated initial letter “C.” From the initial letter, the second letter “A” is searched for in a straight horizontal or vertical direction. Once it is circled and linked, the third letter “T” is searched for in a straight horizontal or vertical line. There are two “T's” to choose from, but only the “T” in the first row is a valid solution, because it lies in a straight horizontal or vertical line from the letter “A.” Once the “T” is circled and linked to the “A,” the “S” is searched for in a straight horizontal or vertical line from the “T.” The solution letter “S” is located two grid squares away from the “T” in a straight vertical line. Once the “S” is circled, the circled solution letters “T” and “S” are connected with a line which crosses out the disguising letter “T.”

The remaining letters in FIG. 1 which were not circled or crossed out with a line are letters which solve the word-scramble 23. The letters “D” (64), “G,” “O” and “S” are unscrambled to form the answer to the scramble question 23 which satisfies the number of blanks 24 and is “DOGS” (72).

FIG. 2 shows a sample puzzle grid 02 with letters presented in the grid as part of the puzzle. As shown in this example, the grid may take different forms or shapes, and isn't required to be square in overall shape. Other letters are shown in the grid (such as 13 & 14) which do not have any indication to them. 13 represents a letter which will be crossed out in the solution to the question asked by 21. 14 represents a letter which will not be circled or crossed out while solving the puzzle, so therefore it will be a letter used in the scramble-word clue 23's solution.

In FIG. 2, 52 shows the solution to the puzzle of 02. In the solution “CATS” (71) to the original clue (21), the letter “G” (13 & 62) is crossed out with a vertical line. The letter “S” (61) is circled and joined with the solution. The letter “D” (64) is not circled or crossed out as part of the clue solution (71), and therefore is a letter used in the scramble solution (72) of “DOGS.”

In 52 of FIG. 2, through the course of solving the puzzle, the solution to the trivia word clue number 1 was determined to be “CATS.” The puzzle grid is then used to locate the word, beginning with the indicated initial letter “C.” From the initial letter, the second letter “A” is searched for in a straight horizontal or vertical direction. The solution letter “A” is located three grid squares away from the “C” in a straight vertical line. Once the “A” is circled, the circled letters “C” and “A” are connected with a line which crosses out the disguising letters “T” and “D.” The third letter “T” is then searched for in a straight horizontal or vertical line from “A”. There are two “T's” to choose from, but only the “T” in the fourth row is a valid solution, because the “T” in the second row was crossed out with the line connecting “C” and “A,” and therefore may not be used as a solution letter to a clue. Once the “T” is circled and linked to the “A,” the “S” is searched for in a straight horizontal or vertical line from the “T.” There are two “S's” to choose from, but only the “S” in the first row is a valid solution, because it lies in a straight horizontal or vertical line from the letter “T.” The solution letter “S” is located three grid squares away from the “T” in a straight vertical line. Once the “S” is circled, the circled solution letters “T” and “S” are connected with a line which crosses out the disguising letters “C” and “G.”

FIG. 3 shows a sample puzzle grid 03 with letters (such as 13) presented in the grid as part of the puzzle and blacked out squares (31) presented which may not be crossed in the course of solving the puzzle. The first letter of a clue solution is pointed out in 11 with a circle around the letter and a grayed out background to the grid square.

In FIG. 3, 53 shows the solution to the puzzle of 03. The blacked out squares (31) may not be crossed as part of the solution by the lines connecting the letters (such as 63). In the solution “CATS,” the “T” (61) and the “S” are connected with a line which crosses out the disguising letter “G” (62).

FIG. 4 shows a sample puzzle grid 04 with letters (such as 12) presented in the grid as part of the puzzle and a blank area (32) without any pre-filled letters which may be crossed in the course of solving the puzzle. As shown in this example, the grid may take different forms or shapes, and isn't required to be square in overall shape. The first letter of a clue solution is pointed out in 11 with a circle around the letter and a grayed out background to the grid square.

In FIG. 4, 54 shows the solution to the puzzle of 04. The blank area (32) is crossed as part of the solution by the lines connecting the letters (such as 81). The letters “D” (64), “G,” “O” and “S” are unscrambled to form the answer to the scramble question which satisfies the number of blanks and is “DOGS”.

FIG. 5 shows a sample grid 05 with letters presented in the grid as part of the puzzle which has only one solution. Small numbers (such as 33) are provided in the beginning letter squares which coincide with the clue number to add an element of the puzzle which makes it less difficult to solve. Trivia word clues are presented with the number of letters in the answer indicated by blanks 22. A scramble clue is presented with the number of letters in the answer being indicated by blanks 24.

In FIG. 5, 55 shows the solution to the puzzle of 05. The beginning letter to the solution to clue number 1 is “L.” The first letter of “LEXINGTON” is pointed out in 11 with a circle around the letter and a grayed out background to the grid square. A small number 1 (33) is printed to coincide with the clue number. With the small numbers being used in the solution, the trivia word clue answers are not presented outside the puzzle grid solution; only the scramble word answer is presented outside the puzzle grid (72). In the course of solving a clue, the solution's path may cross over itself as illustrated by the line connecting “C” and “O” crossing over the line connecting “L” and “I” in the solution “LINCOLN” (66). In the course of solving a clue, a solution's path may cross over another solution's path as illustrated by the line connecting “C” and “O” of “LINCOLN” crossing over the line connecting “T” and “O” of “LEXINGTON” (67).

In 55 of FIG. 5, through the course of solving the puzzle, the solution to the trivia word clues were determined to be “LEXINGTON” for number 1, “LINCOLN” for number 2, and “LEE” for number 3. The puzzle grid is then used to locate the three words, beginning with the indicated initial letters “L.” In this puzzle, each of the three initial letters is indicated with a number to show which clue solution it belongs to. Beginning with clue number 1, which has the trivia word solution of “LEXINGTON,” an “E” is searched for in a straight horizontal or vertical line from the beginning “L.” There are two “E's” to choose from, but only the “E” in a straight horizontal line in the second row and fifth column is a valid solution. That is because the “E” in the sixth row and first column is on the other side from the beginning “L” of the initial letter “L” already circled to start the second clue word. After circling the valid “E,” there are two “X's” in a straight horizontal or vertical line from the “E.” Only the “X” in a straight vertical line in the fifth row and fifth column is valid, because the “X” in the second row and third column has already been crossed out by the line connecting the “L” and the “E.” From the valid “X,” there are two “I's” to choose from in a straight horizontal or vertical line. The “I” in the third row and fifth column is not valid since it was crossed out by the line connecting the “E” and the “X.” Only the “I” in a straight horizontal line from the “X,” which is located in the fifth row and fourth column is a valid next solution. After the valid “I” is circled, the only available “N” is located in a vertical straight line in the fourth row and fourth column. From that “N,” the only available “G” is located in a straight horizontal line in the fourth row and third column. From that “G,” the only available “T” is located in a straight vertical line in the fifth row and third column. From that “T,” the only available “O” is located in a straight horizontal line in the fifth row and first column. From that “O,” the only available “N” is located in a straight vertical line in the fourth row and first column. And that finishes the puzzle solution to the first clue solution of “LEXINGTON.” The second and third puzzle solutions are solved in much the same way.

FIG. 6 shows a sample grid 06 with letters (such as 11, 12, 13 & 14) presented in squares as part of the grid which is part of the puzzle which has only one solution. First letters to the clue solutions are indicated (such as 11) with a circle around the letter and a grayed out background to the grid square. Other letters (such as 12, 13 & 14) are presented in the grid with no indication to them. The letter “M” (12) represents a letter which is part of a solution to a clue, though it has no indication that it is part of the solution. The letter “X” (13) represents a “disguising” letter which will be crossed out by the solution to a clue, though it has no indication that it is a “disguising” letter. The letter “T” (14) represents a letter which will not be circled or crossed out as part of a clue solution, and is therefore a letter of the word scramble solution, though it has no indication that it is part of the word scramble. 21 represents a trivia word puzzle clue to be solved. 22 indicates with blanks the number of characters which are in the solution to the trivia word puzzle clue pointed out by 21. 23 represents a word scramble clue to be solved. 24 indicates with blanks the number of characters which are in the solution to the word scramble pointed out by 23. In FIG. 7, 56 shows the solution to the puzzle 06 in FIG. 6. The letter “M” (12 in FIG. 6) in the original puzzle has now been circled (61) as part of the solution “COMSTOCK” to clue number 8. The letter “X” (13 in FIG. 6) in the original puzzle has now been crossed out (62) as part of the solution “PROHIBITION” to clue number 5. Lines (such as 63) are used to connect the circled solution letters (such as 61) while crossing out the “disguising” letters (such as 62). The solutions to the original puzzle clues are shown outside of the grid in this example (such as 71). The letter “T” (14 in FIG. 6) in the original puzzle has not been circled or crossed out (64) as part of the solutions to all of the clues, and is therefore a letter remaining for the solution to the word scramble clue (23 in FIG. 6). This word scramble solution is “CROCKETT” as shown outside the grid as the “Scramble:” solution (72). In the course of solving a clue, the solution's path may cross over itself as illustrated by the line connecting “B” and “L” crossing over the line connecting “E” and “A” in the solution “PREAMBLE” (66). In the course of solving a clue, a solution's path may cross over another solution's path as illustrated by the line connecting “M” and “B” of “PREAMBLE” crossing over the line connecting “A” and “P” of “CAPONE” (67). 

1. A Trivia, Word Search and Word Scramble puzzle where the puzzle is solved by forming a chain of letters within the puzzle grid for each trivia word clue solution where: (A) Beginning with pre-circled initial letters, circling individual letters belonging to the trivia word clue solution where: (a) the chain of letters of a solution word does not fall in a single straight line (b) the chain of letters of a solution word does not consist entirely of neighboring squares, as consecutive letters of a solution word may be separated by any number of disguising grid squares (c) two consecutive letters of a solution word lie in a straight horizontal or vertical line from each other (B) Connecting the circled letters of each solution word with straight lines in the horizontal or vertical direction where the lines connecting two consecutive letters (a) may not cross over a circled letter (b) may not backtrack along the path of a pre-existing line (c) may cross over the path of a line that connects two different letters (d) may cross out disguising letters which then may not be circled in the course of solving the puzzle (e) may not cross through any blacked out squares (f) may cross through any blank squares (C) Any remaining letters of the grid which are not circled or crossed out when all of the trivia word clue solutions are discovered belong to the word-scramble clue solution 